My Passion for Georgraphy and Earth Science -- A Summary for the International Earth Science Olympiad

2022年09月18日 Guestbook

After the winning medals in IESO (International Earth Science Olympiad), I was interviewed by the Committee of Chinese Earth Science Olympiad, in which I was pleased to share my own experience participating in the Olympiad, as well as my passion for Geography and Earth Science. The following shown is my draft for the interviwew questions.

1. WHAT IT IS LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE IESO?#

(Impressive experiences and feelings during the competition)

As Mr. Nir Orion said at the opening ceremony – “Enjoy the Journey” – this experience of participating in the International Earth Science Olympiad is undoubtedly an unforgettable journey.

During this journey, we were fully immersed in the experience brought by the DMT (Data Mining Test). From the biodiversity of the Panarea Islands to the eruption of Mount St. Helens, from the formation of the Himalayas Mountain to the shuttle of the Hack8558 asteroid in the background galaxy, we talk to the mountains, rivers, stars and oceans, exploring the mechanism of the operation of the earth and the universe, paying attention to the future fate of the world’s living beings.

And I will never forget that in the presentation of NTFI (National Team Field Investigation) at three o’clock in the morning in Beijing time, we depicted the billion-year-history of layer formations in the Huyu Scenic Spot, redrew the possible appearance of the paleochannel here, explored the impact of potential geological disasters on human society; gracefully and confidently demonstrated our practical skills and critical thinking to the world, and finally won two gold medals for our country, China.

During this journey, I was also deeply touched by the cooperation between my domestic and international teammates. When preparing for ELSI (Earth Learning Students’ Ideas) and A&S (Art and Science), my national team teammates and I enjoyed the rush of inspiration, presenting science and passion with art and creativity. ESP (Earth System Project), on the other hand, is the resonance of the soul across latitude and longitude. The moment we turned on the camera and smiled at each other, my fear of cultural differences and communication barriers faded — the passion and worship of nature provide us with countless common topics, and it was at that time that I realize: science, should belong to the whole world.
In addition, I was immersed in the tension and excitement of competing in the Olympiad. It was the sodium-rich oblique feldspar that appeared repeatedly in the dream, the sunrise witnessed several times in Nanjing and Beijing, the sense of release and accomplishment when overcoming the difficulties, and the heart that beat wildly at the award ceremony…

The results of two gold, one silver and one bronze are undoubtedly the best gifts that this journey has given me. And I deeply understand that the touching and moving behind these four medals comes from being able to study together with like-minded friends, being able to enjoy the logical thinking and insight of earth scientists, as well as being able to use my own words to interpret the vast land and the starry sky…

2. INTEREST AND LEARNING EXPERIENCES IN EARTH SCIENCES

(When did you start learning earth science? Why did you become interested in it? What efforts have you made in the process of learning earth sciences, and what kind of gains have you got?)

Looking back, my passion for earth science is cultivated subtly and unconsciously. Every time immersed in the illustrations in the encyclopedia, every time standing in front of the fossil specimens in the museum, every time stopping to admire the changes of clouds outside the window, every time be unwilling to part to farewell the natural scenery I encountered on the journey… As a child living in a big city, I was eager to get close to nature. I am touched by the vast expanse of the wilderness, and look forward to encountering the mountains, rivers, stars and oceans, listening to their stories with respect and awe.

And the Earth Science Olympiad is an excellent platform for me to understand the world with a scientific view through learning and exploration. This year is the first time our school has participated in the Chinese Earth Science Olympiad (CESO), hence there are few mentoring and resources provided. So on the basis of the physical geography of the Chinese College Entrance Examination Curriculum, I studied some university courses on my own according to the exam content and syllabus, organized notes and mindmaps to build knowledge framework, and independently sorted out the typical question collections in the Olympiad to consolidate my understanding. Meanwhile, to study the Earth Science Olympiad is not only to read books and do past paper problems, but also to view, think and experience. I remember going to the museum with my classmates to identify fossils and prehistoric animals, and listening to my friends who studied the Biology Olympiad explain the history of biological evolution; I remember that whenever the temperature suddenly changes, we always argued about the current weather system, identifying and discussing the direction of the wind and types of cloud; I also remember that on many nights preparing for the competition alone, I watched the moon outside the window, and unconsciously start to calculate the azimuth and identify the moon phase… As more knowledge learned, I became more and more attracted to the wonders of earth science, as well as prouder to be able to explain the splendid natural phenomena in my own words.

In the process of studying and preparing for the competition, I gradually gained a multidimensional understanding of science, including its experimental methods and research methods, such as experimental instruments commonly used in planetary science, chaotic systems of meteorology, modeling and inversion of geophysics, and so on. In addition, I also realized that science is not just a theory in black and white in books, but has a dynamic development process. Take the theory of plate tectonics for example, I have taken it as an axiom since childhood, but never thought that it had actually encountered many setbacks when it challenged the Geosyncline theory decades ago; it was constantly repaired and improved by breakthroughs in continental geology, marine geology, geophysics, etc., and is still developing today. At the same time, during the field investigation in the international competition, I also gained a new understanding of the research methodology of earth science scholars, handled the use of geographic information tools to some extent, and also gradually built up my own earth science logic, and learned to understand the dynamic change of and interaction between the earth systems, so as to analyze real-life earth science problems with a more comprehensive view.

Of course, I am also immersed in the pleasure of knowledge learning itself. Among all the disciplines, the ones that struck and moved me the most were planetary science and astronomy. I remember that when I visited the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Researcher Yang Wei once said to us, “The future of earth science is planetary science.” Since their birth, human beings have begun to think and explore the universe. We have lingered long enough on the shores of the cosmic ocean. We are ready at last to set sail for the stars. Whether it is to continue to explore the mechanism of the workings of the universe, or explore possible resources, or find a new home, this is a step that we will definitely take in the near future. And when you understand the thousands of matters in the universe, and then look back at the earth, you will harvest a different kind of touch. In a corner of the Spiral Arm of the Milky Way, cosmic matter evolved into life, and possessed consciousness. They were cast by the stars, and now they look up at the starry sky; Full of enthusiasm and passion of the universe, they began a long way home.

3. EXPECTATIONS AND PLANS FOR MAJOR AND CAREER

(Your plans for the university majors you most want to apply for, the direction you want to learn in depth, future scientific research planning or career planning)

I will apply for geography as my undergraduate major choice and I am looking forward to engaging in geographical scientific research in the future. As a space science, it not only focuses on the operation mechanism of various earth systems and their interrelations, but also seeks to find out the dilemma faced by mankind in this fast-changing world; It not only provides a foothold for the principles of natural science research, but also provides comprehensive and dynamic perspectives and schemes for evaluating and solving social problems. From these all-encompassing contents, find the problem, abstract logic, analysis and provide constructive suggestions – for me, there are both vertical thinking, lateral extension, and field exploration, which let me feel no longer to be a filled and trained professional learner, but a solution provider for real-world problems. In the future, I am eager to continually expand my knowledge of natural and social science, so as to explore the relationship between humans and the environment, and finally commit myself to solving the problems faced by mankind today, such as climate change, energy security, environmental pollution and so on. I am also willing to learn and master geographic information tools, handle and analyze complicated spacial information with big data technologies, as well as visualize and clarify my conclusions.

Actually, I’m not quite sure what specific job I’m going to take in the future: researcher, scientific populizer, writer, decision maker…… the job I preferred most now is scientific researcher, but no matter what the case is, the undeniable thing is that I will always be reverent and curious about nature, and will never forget my responsibility of guarding the earth and mankind. As Mr. Carl Sagan, whom I admire most, said in his book Cosmos, “We are the local embodiment of a Cosmos grown to self-awareness. We have begun to contemplate our origins…… Our loyalties are to the species and the planet. We speak for Earth. Our obligation to survive is owed not just to ourselves but also to that Cosmos, ancient and vast, from which we spring.”

4. ADVICE FOR FUTURE IESO CONTESTANTS

(Provide some advice and encouragement for future contestants)

The essence of the competition is to examine the knowledge boundaries of the contestants, so constantly expanding your academic knowledge is the most basic task when preparing for the competition. And as for earth science, the discipline that is not included in our compulsory curriculum (in China there are only 9 courses taught in secondary schools, namely Chinese, Maths, English, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Politics, History, and Geography), it is particularly important to build our own knowledge framework and system. Expanding knowledge boundary is not simply equal to memorizing and recitation, but also requires understanding the relationship between key knowledge points or different sub-subjects, so as to have a systematic understanding of the entire earth science discipline and achieve a comprehensive and thorough learning effect.

What goes hand in hand with building expanding knowledge boundaries is a sufficient and appropriate amount of practice, as the practice is always the best way to consolidate understanding. The domestic and international Olympiad past papers are definitely great sources of questions. You can first go through them and then confirm your answer by looking up the textbook or other learning materials. Meanwhile, if there are students around you who are also preparing for the Earth Science Olympiad, you may as well discuss the problems with them together. Trust me, you will not only learn a lot from each other, but also built up an unforgettable and solid friendship.

Finally, for an Olympiad competitor, even if he has gained enough knowledge, he still needs a strong psychological diathesis to reach eventual success. Therefore, in this challenging journey, whatever difficulties you encounter, please just maintain the sobriety and rationality of earth scientists, bravely face challenges, keep thinking and exploring.

I wish you satisfying Olympiad results; and also wish you to enjoy the tempering and steeling brought by this Olympiad experience, and go further with your passion and faith in earth science in the future!

Huyu's Geological Hazard Analysis and Prediction -- our gold-medal program in IESO

2022年09月04日 Guestbook

NTFI (National Team Field Investigation) is one of the most important competitions in the International Earth Science Olympiad. Up to 2 teams from each nation can participate in this competition. And pleasantly, my team won a gold medal for China in the final presentation! (international top 5)
In this article I am going to share our speech draft and powerpoint slide. But at first, let’s have a look at the official introduction and requirements of this competition by the Olympiad committee:

An NTFI is a mini-study pertaining to a significant earth system phenomenon at a field site that combines limited and short field and laboratory studies. In an NTFI a focused research question is formulated in terms of time and scope a research question that can be answered in a mini-study of a few hours of field investigations and a few hours of laboratory research. The following criteria may be borne in mind while selecting earth system phenomena:

(a)The phenomenon represents earth system interactions.

(b)The research question has an environmental component.

(c)Data collection includes the use of up-to-date field instruments and up to date lab equipment.

(d)A long-term data set may be provided to students following one-time measurements at the field site.

(e)The NTFI is not a duplication of in-depth academic studies (Ph.D.and M.Sc.). The evaluation panel will disqualify projects with a scope of more than 1-2 research days of data collection and analysis.

The final evaluation considers: Originality, Scope, Independence, Logical sequence.

HUYU’S GEOLOGICAL HAZARD ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION

Team China

Ziyan Fang, Congyue Mao, Zitong Wang, Yansen Zeng

Hello everyone, I am Ziyan Fang and it’s my honor to deliver the NTFI presentation representing Team China. My teammates are Zitong Wang, Yansen Zeng, and Congyue Mao, and our research topic is the analysis and prediction of geological hazards in Huyu, Beijing.

![][1]

Introduction

Geological hazard is the result of the interaction of lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. It is closely associated with social and economic development and hence largely attracts the attention of every stakeholder. As earth science learners, we wish to give full play to our advantages, using the knowledge we gained to explain the inducing factors and formation mechanism of geological hazards, and eventually contribute to the reduction of their impacts on human society.

![][2]

The study area we chose for our National Team Field Investigation is Beijing Huyu Natural Scenic Spot. Based on the analysis of the local geological and human environment, we assessed the distribution of potential hazard risk there and put forward suggestions on local development accordingly, including the tourism industry, engineering construction, etc.

![][3]

Methodology

During the investigation, we were dedicated to collecting and analyzing primary and secondary data, and contributed to putting forward our own thoughts and conclusions as well.

Before the field trip, we used satellite and geological maps to get a preliminary understanding of the local environment, and conducted the background investigation by looking up geological records.

During the field trip, we focused intently on the characteristics of outcrops on both sides of the road, inferred possible geological hazard sites, and recorded a great amount of relevant data. For instance, we used geological compasses to determine the occurrence of rock layers, geological hammers to collect samples, magnifying glasses to observe the structure and texture of rocks, and the Mohs hardness tester to determine rock hardness. Meanwhile, we took plenty of photographs that contain scales for further analysis, such as estimating the height of the strata using the trigonometric method, judging the degree of joint development, and so on.

![][4]

After the field trip, we conducted rock thin section observations with polarization microscopes in the laboratory and tested the mineral composition of the rocks with chemical reagents, in order to verify and improve our preliminary conclusions. This is our experiment process (shown in the PowerPoint), and this is our observations under the microscope (shown in the PowerPoint). After the experiment, we summarized a table for the features and naming of samples.

![][5]

![][6]

In addition, we benefited a lot from literature reviews and the collection of remoting data. To be specific, referring to academic articles, we determined the importance of each inducing factor’s role in different types of geological hazards, and weighted them accordingly. We designed the assignment scheme to assess the risk level of each potential hazard site in Huyu Natural Scenic Spot and used ArcGIS to visualize our conclusion. Apart from that, we discussed other factors that might contribute to the hazards as well, and eventually end our investigation with suggestions to mitigate the hazard (risk).

And that is the introduction of the process and methodology for our research.

![][7]

Background Investigation

Now, let’s have a look at the content of our research in detail. To begin with, let me introduce you the geological and cultural background of our study area, Huyu, a valley located in the northwest corner of Beijing. The area is famous for its Neopalaeozoic auxiliary profile, and since 1913, universities successively set up geological internship bases here. At present, it is a famous scenic spot as well, attracting numbers of tourists to come around.

![][8]

The slope here tends to the west, and the elevation varies from 190m to 583m. Meanwhile, dominated by the temperate monsoon climate, it has hot and rainy summer, cold and dry winter, and short spring and autumn, whilst the vegetation is mainly deciduous broad-leaved forest. Most rock layers of outcrops here belong to three formations of the Changcheng system, namely the Tuanshanzi Formation, Chuanlinggou Formation, and Changzhougou Formation from the bottom to the top.

![][9]

Changzhougou Formation and Chuanlinggou Formation are mainly composed of clastic sedimentary rocks, which gradually changed from coarse-grained quartz sandstone on the bottom to siliceous shale and dolomitic shale on the top, reflecting the sedimentary environment with gradually deepened water. And the Tuanshanzi Formation is a shallow Marine sedimentary mainly composed of dolomite developed after transgression. In the investigation, we found that the rocks in the region intensely develop joints under tectonic activities, and the down-cutting effect of the Huyu River was relatively strong. These features are likely to contribute to the occurrence of geological hazards. In addition, in recent years, with the development of the tourism industry, the roads inside the mountain have been cleared and repaired by human beings, forming a number of artificial steep cliffs and slopes, increasing the risk of geological disasters such as dangerous rocks, rockfalls, and landslides.

![][10]

To assess the risk in detail, we picked out several factors that are likely to associate with the geological hazards through literature review, including slope, lithology, elevation, biological destruction, etc.

Primary Data Collection and Analysis

![][11]

Based on the preliminary understanding of the local environment as well as inducing factors of geological hazards, we investigated intently through our study area, Huyu. After observing, sampling and data collecting, we came up with the following 9 potential geological hazard sites.

This is the first site, a human-excavated high dip slope formed by low-strength rocks. Here is a reverse fault, and fault breccia can be seen to develop along the fault plane. Meanwhile, biological destruction can be considered as another characteristic of this site, just like the ant nests as you can see. The sample taken from this point shows clear argillaceous structure when observed under the microscope.

This is site 2 where we can see a plane layer with a slope angle of 48°, which is basically the same as its strata dip angle. Besides, it can be inferred that the slide deposit on it was cleared artificially, breaking the stabilization of the rock layer, and hence landslide is likely to be triggered.

This is the third site, which is made up of thin mudstone and grey yellow medium–thin dolomite. Here grows the typical rectangular boudinage and the joints are considerably developed. Under the microscope, the cryptopular structure and elongated
pyroxene crystal of the sample taken here can be seen.

Then let’s have a look at site four, which is quite special for its huge rock hanging above. The elevation here is around 8.5 meters high, whilst the underburden is greatly developed with joints, resulting in a possibility for the rock to drop. Interestingly, it seems that the risk has already been noticed by the local authority, as we observed its underburden to be covered by cement. And this is the lithological identification of site 4.

This is site 5, a banded metamorphic quartzite. It’s well beded and develops a group of X-type conjugate shear joints. Also, we can observe plant root splitting in this site. Under the microscope, quartz clumps are observed.
Here we come to site 6 where the sandstone is in contact with the monzonitic porphyry intrusion, and joints are developed.

This is site 7, though not have great elevation, it is still worth attention for its considerable slope, developed X-type conjugate shear joints, and severe weathering degree. There are also some other interesting things to be mentioned, such as the ripple and mud crack structure. Through the rock thin section observation, we identified the rocks here as metamorphic feldspar quartz sandstone.

This is the eighth site, which is considered to be the one with the greatest hazard risk. The huge rock is about 18 meters high, below which develops an inverted trapezoid empty part. Meanwhile, tracing joints are visible here and root splitting effect is apparent on the top of the rock mass.

And this is our last site, a human-excavated 75°slope. Being made up of Quaternary fluvial sediments, its soil structure is quite loose, and there are also even a great amount of ant nests inside. But fortunately, the plants covering it could contribute to its stabilization.

Primary Data Presentation: Hazard Prediction

And this is the description of the characteristics of possible geological hazard points in Huyu. But, how should we convert them into quantitative risk levels? This is what we have done:

First, we graded each hazard point according to their development levels of hazard-inducing factors, such as scope, biological disturbance, etc. After that, we grouped these 9 points into 2 types of hazards, namely rockfall and landslide. And then, calculation models are designed separately based on the features of these 2 hazards, in which factors weigh differently, just as this chart shows. After that, we graded each site in terms of factors, getting sheet 4.3. Notably, there is a special point worth to be explained, that is, it was not easy for us to measure the slope of site 4 and 8, but on account of their obvious unstabilization and risk, we assigned their slope to the highest grades.

![][12]

![][13]

After that, we calculated the 50% and the 75% value of the total score for each model, and compare these values to the risk level of each hazard site. Obviously, the score of most sites is higher than half of its total score, which proves the scientific rationality of our selection and judgment. At the same time, we also got three high-risk sites, site 2, 8 and 9, whose scores are higher than 75% of the total score, and their characteristics are clearly shown in the following radar charts.

![][14]

![][15]

Apart from the spatial distribution of hazard sites, we also predicted the temporal distribution of hazard risk in this region. We have learned from the literature that water is a key factor in geological hazards, in other words, there is a highly positive correlation between precipitation frequency and hazard frequency. Therefore, we searched for Beijing’s monthly precipitation data, and as you can see, the average precipitation intensity reaches the top in July and August, and falls to the least in December and January. As landslides and rockfalls usually happen during or after heavy rainy days, it would be not hard to conclude that hazards in Huyu are most likely to occur from July to September every year, and are least likely to occur from December to January.

![][16]

Another thing worth mentioning is that, actually, apart from traditional methods, we also used geographic tools to assist our analysis and visualize data presentation. To be specific, we used ArcGIS to create plane elements and line elements to depict the iconic locations of the scenic area, such as reservoirs and rivers. After that, we created the point elements according to the geographic coordinates of the nine hazard sites, gave them different attributes, showed their grade by the size of points, and indicated different factors by color. Finally, we used the calculation tool to come up with the total risk value, and combined all the factors into a single diagram to show our conclusion clearly.

![][17]

![][18]

Discussion: A river in Huyu?

In addition to the common quantitative factors mentioned above, the Huyu Natural Scenic Spot also has another special point worth to be discussed.

During the field investigation, we noticed that there is a small river running through the Huyu Canyon, where there are multilevel terraces developing on its banks, reflecting its strong down-cutting ability under tectonic background.

The characteristics of the Huyu River get us to consider whether it will affect the distribution of geological hazards in the scenic spot. Apparently, the steep cliffs on both of its sides provide the fundamental conditions for the occurrence of geological hazards. Meanwhile, rocks in riparian areas, especially in concave banks, are likely to be loosened under long-term weathering and erosion, which further increases the risk of hazards. Another point to mention is that during the rainy season, discharge of Huyu River increases, leading to the rise of local groundwater level. This improves hydrostatic pressure in the rocks, causing damage to them; what’s more, the water seeping into the rock crevices also acts as lubrication, increasing the possibility for hazards to take place.

![][19]

However, by observing the characteristics of the river in the field, we found that its current runoff is actually small and the velocity is also not that fast. Therefore, although in theory, the river indeed has the potential to contribute to geological hazards, the magnitude of its actual impact under the context of our study area is not likely to be very large.

Suggestion

And this is the analysis and discussion of potential geological hazard risks in Huyu. To tackle these risks, we came up with some suggestions for local authorities.

During the investigation, we found that the existence of these unstable slopes is often associated with the great elevation, steep slope, and the accumulation of unstable rock and soil. Therefore, the most economical mitigation measure is to reduce the slope by cutting off part of the unstable rock and soil mass, so as to improve its stability. In addition, through literature review, we also found that when the edge slope body is broken and the joints and fractures are developed, pressure grouting would be an effective way of deep reinforcement. In other cases, driving into the anchor rod is a great shallow reinforcement measure, whilst deep reinforcement can be achieved by prestressing the anchor cable.

For non-vertical and well-bedded slopes, such as site 5, we can set ordinary pre-reinforced piles to avoid the slide of rock mass along the layer, as shown in figure 6.1. And as for the dangerous rock such as site 8, we recommend using spring support or column support to reinforce, so that the risk of collapse would be reduced.

![][20]

Meanwhile, considering Huyu’s role as a Natural Scenic spot as well as a geological internship base, we believe that an important principle for the mitigation is that the original appearance of the outcrop or section should be preserved to the greatest extent under the premise of ensuring the reinforcement.

Last but not least, in addition to engineering improvements, we also suggest local authorities put up warning signs at potential hazard sites and close scenic spots during extremely bad weather such as heavy rainy days, so that tourists’ safety can be ensured.

Feedback

And this is the content of our investigation in Huyu’s geological hazard analysis and prediction.

Admittedly, there are several improvements that could be carried out for our research. For instance, we should have collected more quantitative data during the field trip, including the width of rock joints, the elevation and thickness of rock layers, and the runoff and velocity of the river, so as to reach more accurate conclusions. // At the same time, if it is possible for us to carry out on-site rock and soil mechanics experiments, we might be able to provide more reasonable mitigation suggestions for each hazard site.

And that is the end of our NTFI presentation, thank you for listening.

The Life of the New-Tethys Ocean

2022年09月04日 Guestbook

Professor Chris King passed away in early 2022, who used to be the chief editor of textbooks of the Geography Olympiad and the Earth Science Olympiad and devoted his life to geographical science popularization. In memory of Mr. King, the committee of 2022 IESO decided to hold the ELSI competition (Earth Learning Students’ Ideas), in which students were expected to produce videos or reels to show geological theories and phenomena. We Team China chose the life of the New Tethys Ocean as our video topic, presenting the Wilson cycle and other related geological concepts in the form of short plays, and gained the only gold medal in the world. (also called “excellent” in this program)

Here is the link of our ELSI project:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1fU4y1B7SS?share_source=copy_web&vd_source=b8454367b4642c5facffcc6bd2bc69a7

And the following article is our script. The script was mostly written by me, whilst other students were responsible for prop-making or action design. I also participated in play acting (I acted as the mantle plume!) and voice acting.

The life of the New-Tethys Ocean

Team China

Ziyan Fang, Chenghan Li, Jiaqi Li, Congyue Mao,
Jianing Sun, Zitong Wang, Yansen Zeng, Yunhan Zou

Prologue

“The roof of the world”, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is the highest plateau on the earth. However, it is reported that decades ago scientists have found marine fossils in the plateau, such as ammonites and ichthyosaurs. And their explanation for this discovery is even more weird – they say that there used to be an ocean covering the area where Qinghai-Tibet Plateau situates nowadays! How unbelievable! Well, today we are so glad to invite the ocean himself, Tethys, for a short interview about his life. Hello Tethys, would you like to introduce us something about your life?

“Hi, I am Tethys.”

*silence for a while//”two hundred years later…”

Well, sorry, I forgot that you could speak little English. Cool, so, you can show us by acting it out.

*Nodding

Action!

STAGE A: Embryonic Ocean Basin (Stable Craton with a hot spot underneath)

The life of the neo-Tethys Ocean began in the Late Permian. Between the continent of Laua and Gondwana, a mantle plume appeared, which heated up the continents and caused them to swell upwards. A rift valley was created and a small ocean was formed in the middle, and that was our newborn Neo-Tethys Ocean。

STAGE B: Juvenile Ocean Basin (Early Rifting of a Continent)

As the continents continue to drift apart, the edges of both continents cooled down and therefore got heavier and sunk below the newly formed Tethys Ocean.

STAGE C: Mature Ocean Basin (Full ocean basin)

In the early cretaceous (140Ma bp). A mature ocean basin of the Tethys had formed between two continental margins, and it was still spreading.

STAGE D: Declining ocean basin (Subduction Zone)

In the end of Early Cretaceous, the Neo-Tethys Ocean began to shrink as the Indian plate moved northwards. A subduction zone has formed at the edge of continent and the sea began to close up.

STAGE E: Terminal Ocean Basin (Closing Remnant Ocean Basin)

The formation of magma happened deep in the subduction zone and small mountains were built up.

STAGE F: Suturing (Continental Collision)

Eventually, in the Eocene epoch, as the Indian plate was inserted into the Eurasian plate, the great Tethys sea disappeared completely.

“I die!”

Haha yeah, you died.
In the place where he had once lived, the Qinghai-Tibet plateau uplifts, forming ‘the roof of the world’. And that is the brief introduction of the life of Tethys.

Epilogue

Yes, as you can see, the Neo-Tethys Ocean has completely faded away on our earth. His magnificent two-hundred-million-year life was only a short moment in the 4.6-billion-year earth history. However, it is an undeniable fact that he had once created colorful habitats for plenty of species, playing an important role in the evolution of creatures. And for today’s human beings, its precious heritages –the Alps, the Himalaya, etc, also build a platform for us to explore more about our beautiful earth.

Climate Change:Tropical Cyclones, ENSO and the Spheres

2022年09月03日 Guestbook

The ESP (Earth Systems Project) is also an event held during IESO2022, which requests international groups of students to investigate one of the four topics on Earth System Phenomena and make presentation to the International Jury. The topic I selected was Climate Change’s Effects on Natural Hazards (one of the four topics provided by the committee) and then I was assigined to a group where students also chose this topic. My teammates were from Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Australia and UAE, and we chose to work on climate change’s impact on tropical cyclones specifically.

Myself Ziyan Fang and team 18 group members will be presenting our Earth science project. For our Earth systems project, we investigated how tropical storms are connected to phenomena such as climate change and the El Niño Southern Oscillation. We also looked at how this affects Earth’s systems.
Our topic was to investigate the impacts of climate change on natural hazards. For something to be a natural hazard, it has to be a natural event with potential negative impacts on society. A very large number of phenomena fit these criteria, and are not just limited to earthquakes, tropical cyclones, volcanic eruptions, sandstorms, floods and drought, but each one has complex connections to Earth’s systems and to climate change. For this reason, we decided to focus just on one topic for our project and hope to cover it more in depth. We chose to investigate the natural hazard of tropical storms, which are known as tropical cyclones, hurricanes or typhoons depending on where they originate.

Information about Climate Change

To understand how climate change would influence tropical cyclones, we first need to get some basic information about climate change. Our climate system is controlled by plenty of mechanisms, including plate position, Milankovitch cycle, thermohaline circulation, solar activity, volcanic activity, greenhouse effect, ect., among which the first five are mainly long-term or mid-term mechanisms, whilst the final one, greenhouse effect, is the one dominating the change of climate in the recent one hundred years. It refers to the effect that some gas molecules containing two or more atoms of different elements would have net change in the distribution of their electrical charges when they vibrate, and hence can absorb and emit the infrared radiation and subsequently warm the earth’s surface.

From the chart on the left we could see that the gases that contribute most to the greenhouse effect and climate change re CO2, CH4 and NO2, whose concentration ratios have largely increased since the industrial revolution.
In fact, the current climate change is also supported by evidence from all aspects. According to IPCC AR5, our earth is undergoing a series of phenomena including increased surface temperature, fastened water circulation, melting glaciers, decreased seawater PH, and so on, which disturbs our original climate patterns and alters the intensity and distribution of natural disasters, of which tropical cyclones would be a typical one that is closely associated with human society. So, specifically, how will climate change affect tropical cyclones and lead to further impacts on different spheres in the earth system? To answer this question, we must first get some information about tropical cyclones.

Information about Tropical Cyclone

A tropical cyclone is a cloud-rotating storm and a warm low pressure system. Tropical cyclones rotate due to the Coriolis force in the ocean where the temperature of the ocean water is at least 27°C. Tropical cyclones form in warm regions a short distance from the equator.

Let me explain how tropical cyclones form. First, the seawater is heated, and the water evaporates to form water vapour. In the tropics, where temperatures are higher, the atmosphere can contain more water vapour. Next, the evaporated water vapour collects and rises in a spinning motion. After that, it is cooled by the cold upper air and clouds form. As the rising air currents send more and more water vapour into the air, the clouds become warmer and warmer to form cumulonimbus clouds. At this time, a large amount of vapour becomes water, which releases a large amount of latent heat. This heat warms the air around it, making the updraft stronger and the atmospheric pressure lower. This repetition produces tropical cyclones.

Climate change’s impact on tropical cyclone

Frequency: There is evidence that the frequency of tropical cyclones has decreased since industrialisation. There has been a 13% decrease in tropical cyclone frequency between the 1850-1900 period and the 1900-2012 period (Thompson, 2022). The graphs on the slide demonstrate a negative trend for the frequency. A possible reason for this is that climate change can weaken the circulation of Hadley and Walker cells. This is hypothesised to produce less favourable conditions for the formation of tropical cyclones, reducing the number of tropical cyclones that have formed. Another potential reason is the increase in maximum humidity of air due to temperature rise. To form a cyclone near saturation from the surface to a height of 5–7 km is a necessary condition for tropical cyclone development. And due to the increase in absolute humidity it is harder to reach the near saturation level within the specific height and we are seeing a decreasing trend in the numbers of cyclones forming.

Intensity: It is much more agreed that climate change increases the intensity of tropical storms. This may be because an increased temperature leads to increased evaporation and thus more warm air rising and more moisture. When the tropical cyclone has more moisture it can intensify its impact through increased precipitation. The plots project a lower frequency of tropical cyclones in all regions, but an increased intensity and rain rate in all regions. This projection is for an increase in global temperature of 2 degrees celsius.

Location: As global temperatures increase, the temperatures required to form tropical cyclones move closer to the poles. Therefore, the latitude of maximum intensity is getting closer to the poles. Between 1982 and 2009, the average location of Northern hemisphere tropical storms has moved north by 53km, and Southern hemisphere tropical storms have moved south by 60km. Moreover, the change in vertical wind shear change is causing rapid intensification at some regions.

Tropical cyclones’ effect to El nino

As you know, the ENSO, El Niño-Southern Oscillation is the interaction of hydrosphere and atmosphere in the southern pacific ocean. El Niño and La Niña are the warm and cool phases of a recurring climate pattern across the tropical Pacific. The pattern shifts back and forth irregularly every two to seven years, and each phase triggers predictable disruptions of temperature, precipitation. These changes hugely interact with the earth systems’ tendency.

How can the tropical cyclones modulate ENSO? There are two main effects intensify the El nino.

These are the schematic diagrams of the modulation of running 3-month mean SST intensity for the Niño 3.4 region by tropical cyclones over the western North Pacific.
The light blue circle, Walker circulation is weakened by the direct effect of asymmetrically anomalous westerlies within light blue thick arrows related with TCs at lower tropospheric levels and by the indirect effect of the Hadley-like circulation (red circle) over the tropical western Pacific. Moreover, red dashed curve shows TCs can shallow the thermocline in the tropical western Pacific (pink curve indicates the thermocline without TCs and blue solid line the climatological thermocline). Enhanced eastward-propagating equatorial Kelvin waves (red wavy arrow, pink wavy arrow indicates the Kelvin wave without TCs carries warm water eastward, further deepening the thermocline in the tropical eastern Pacific, thereby reducing the gradient of the zonal thermocline in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

In the picture, you can see the zonal eastern wind in the southern pacific ocean enhancement during the main duration of the cyclone. Changes of ENSO due to tropical cyclones could induce Unprecedented abnormal weather.

Interactions of spheres in a tropical cyclone##

So, let’s talk about tropical cyclone affect our atmosphere.

A tropical cyclone is like a giant, atmospheric heat engine. The moisture from the warm ocean acts as its fuel, generating huge amounts of energy as clouds form.
The rotating thunderstorms form spiral rainbands around the eye of the cyclone where the strongest winds and heaviest rain are found, known as the eye wall, transporting heat 15 km or higher into the atmosphere. The drier cooler air at the top of the atmosphere becomes the exhaust gas of the heat engine.

This picture shows increasing wind speed and precipitation around a tropical cyclone. This data is from hurricane Katrina that occurred in August 2005. As you can see, the increased precipitation followed the track of the cyclone. And you can see also, there is increasing wind speed around the cyclone. So, what is the effect?

Strong winds in tropical cyclones lead to large waves on the sea called storm surges. So, What is a storm surge actually? Storm surge is an abnormal rise in sea level above the normal tide levels, and can be thought of as the change in the water level due to the presence of a storm. The height of the storm surge varies depending on how strong the cyclone is. The faster the wind speed, the higher the storm surge that is generated. We got the Katrina TC’s wind speed is SS5, which can generate storm surge up to 24 feet.

When storm surges move to the coast, they erode the Earth’s crust and sediments. This can change the topography of the coast. As you can see in this picture, the coastline pushes further into the land. Plus, Climate change causes sea level rise, making storm surges reach even higher in relation to land, making storm surge even more destructive. If the tc enters even farther to land (Hurricane Maria), it causes many massive landslides as you can see in the picture.

Tropical cyclones damage biological organisms, especially near the coast. Storm surges can cause flooding for a few days. Populations of organisms that can’t defend themselves and adapt through this change will be decreased. This causes secondary succession, where organisms that can adapt to tropical cyclone conditions become more abundant. This phenomenon changes the ecology of the area.

Tropical cyclones and storm surges also cause many human fatalities, especially near the coast. We took data of fatalities caused by the dangerous tropical cyclone bhola. The human fatalities are 300k-500k. Imagine, with this climate change causing the increased intensity of tropical cyclones, how many more lives will fall if we don’t prevent climate change.

Conclusion

Tropical cyclones are a natural hazard with the ability to cause widespread damage. The growing phenomenon of climate change amplifies these devastating effects by increasing their intensity, but not their frequency. This has follow-on consequences for all of earth’s systems, showing that Earth’s spheres are all connected. Tropical cyclones cause and are driven by atmospheric phenomena such as wind and cloud and storm formation. They interact with the hydrosphere because they are formed from the evaporation from water bodies, and cause precipitation. Tropical storms and their storm surges interact with the geosphere by eroding sediments from the coastline, possibly causing landslides. They also interact with the biosphere by damaging organism populations, including human populations, and can alter the ecology of an area. The Earth is an interconnected system, and this investigation of tropical storms has found links to climate change and all four of Earth’s systems. Thank you.

My Earth System Pledge about Climatology

2022年09月03日 Guestbook

The “Earth System Pledge” is one of the projects held during the International Earth Science Olympiad, which requests students to write a short production explaining how they would like to use their knowledge and skills in the future. The article posted below is my pledge. There is a limit for words to be written, hence I choose to express and describe my interest in a specific subject, Climatology.

I’ve always been fascinated by the complexity and sophistication of our climate system. It has constantly undergone changes during the geological history – there were ice ages, high temperatures, and millions of years of heavy rain. This leads some to conclude that, today’s “slight” temperature rise is not likely to impose considerable influences on humans. However, global warming is more than just a simple increase in temperature. Its effects are felt across all Earth systems: rising sea levels flood coastal areas; Disrupted weather systems bring more frequent extreme days; Species are forced to adapt to changing living conditions, and some are even threatened with extinction……

Under the background of climate change, can we, fragile human beings, successfully adapt to the great change in the ecological system we live by? That’s the question I pledge to answer in the future. To this end, I will learn to reconstruct the historical climate change model using evidence such as ice cores and foraminifer; I will use computer tools to analyze its potential impacts and future trends; I will assess and practice existing mitigation strategies including carbon neutrality and pollution reduction, while also dedicate in designing other mitigation measures; Last but not least, I will focus on the social context behind climate change, striving to ensure the interests of more stakeholders.

With the allegiance to this planet, I pledge to work with thousands of earth scientists together, to study its history, focus on its present, and eventually, create its future.

Ziyan Fang, China

Winning Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal in the International Earth Science Olympiad Representing China!!!

2022年09月01日 Guestbook

The 15th IESO (International Earth Science Olympiad) was hosted by Aosta, Italy, from August 25 to 31. More than 200 contestants from 41 countries and regions took part in it, enjoying the seven events held during the olympiad. After national open round, final round and training camp selection, I was honored to become a national team member and participate in the national competition representing China with other 7 teammates. In the 4 competitions which there are gold, silver, and bronze medals to be awarded, I was glad to win gold medal in NTFI (National Team Field Investigation) , gold medal in ELSI (Earth Learning Students’ Ideas)(also called “excellent” in this program), silver medal in DMT (Data Mining Test) and bronze medal in ESP (Earth System Project) . My total medal count ranks first in Team China. The following is my award certificates, whilst the detailed introduction of and my production for each event will be presented in the following articles.

My Linguistics Society and Genetic Engineering Society (1):Activities and Achivements

2022年06月30日 Guestbook

In Year 11 I successfully run two academic societies in our school, namely the Linguistics Society and the Genetic Engineering Society. I am greatly fascinated by the study of these topics, and am willing to build a platform for students who have the same interest in them. After a year’s contribution, the societies were glad to win press attention from our schoolmates, as well as be highly praised by a variety of agencies: Genetic Engineering Society has won the title of “Star Society” in my school, whilst several school teams organised by it all won Gold Awards when participating in iGEM (International Genetically Engineering Machine). The Linguistics Society was recognized as the “Gold Society” by ITCCC, the committee of IOLC (International Olympiad Linguistics China), and I myself was also recognized as the “Gold Campus Ambassador”; meanwhile, many of our society members won national prizes and medals in the olympiad, some of which even successfully entered the national training camp (national top 30).

I am pleased to reach my original intent of running societies, as well as had my own abilities improved. In the following article, I would like to introduce the activities held by my societies in detail, whilst my feelings and gains of abilities are going to be shared in the next post.

The emblem of the Linguistics Society

The emblem of the Genetic Engineering Society

Background#

Being in charge of the Vice President of the Genetic Engineering Society last year, I was determined to undertake the responsibility of its president when the former president decided to leave off her post, in order to use the resources and experience that I gained from the past to offer opportunities for students interested in genetic engineering as well as biological science to communicate and research together.

The Linguistics Society was set up by my friend Yibo Zhao and me at the beginning of this school year, through which we aim to stimulate more students’ interest in language study and hence better continue the tradition of our ‘Foreign Language School’. Meanwhile, as the winner of the National Silver Award in the International Olympiad Linguistics China, I am greatly willing to help the great number of students in our school who are interested in this subject or this competition but have no idea how to start learning and preparing.

After a year’s hard work, it finally turns out that all the efforts we made are worthy and meaningful. In the following article, I would like to introduce in detail the activities we held through the societies as well as the achievements we were glad to gain.

Activities and Achievements

1. Linguistics Society

During this school year, a series of activities were held by the Linguistics society. For instance, we prepared introductory lectures to help society members get a brief understanding of linguistics. Meanwhile, Zhao Yibo was dedicated to expanding the members’ horizons through a wide range of creative ways, including posting a message of “daily linguistics knowledge” in the society’s QQ group every morning, or compiling a society handout that includes recommended booklist and other learning materials. Apart from learning and discussing academic knowledge, we also designed several interesting and funny activities to arouse students’ curiosity and passion for linguistics in an easy way. For example, we invited the Lumos Club (a club composed of Harry Potter fans) to together hold a meeting analysing the linguistic phenomenon of the magical spells in Harry Potter. From the perspective of etymology and morphology, we parsed dozens of typical spells, after which participants also learned and practiced their pronunciation as well as gesture together. At the same time, we prepared fantastic posters of translated spells and their gestures for each participant. Thankfully, the meeting was quite successful, attracting plenty of students and winning high praise from them.

the introductory lecture

the link to the lecture: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1gF411a7Rh?share_source=copy_web&vd_source=b8454367b4642c5facffcc6bd2bc69a7

an example of the “daily linguistics knowledge” message

the content of the society handout

the recommended book list in our society handout

our joint activity with Lumos Club

Meanwhile, our society is also committed to helping members prepare for IOLC (International Olympiad Linguistics China) as well as other Linguistics Olympiads, and I was glad to be the person in charge of this program. My mentoring includes compiling a handout containing typical questions of different topics, such as phonetics, grammar and semantics. The sample questions were selected from the past papers of the national linguistics olympiads of different countries such as China, Russia, and the USA. I organized them in an order from simple to hard, making it easier for new learners to get started. Meanwhile, I dedicated a lot to writing clear answers and language rules to help students improve their linguistic logic (this part will be introduced in detail in the next article). Two months before the competition, I was mainly responsible for answering questions from the society members. Whenever they encountered problems, such as puzzles with no clue, or language rules that are different from their own answers, they could come to ask me and I was always willing to analyze with them together. What is worth mentioning is that, when I was answering questions, compared to letting students understand the answer to a particular question, I focused more on introducing the universal problem-solving methods and logic, such as morpheme comparison, “colour marking method”, “form method”, attention to the supplementary material, and so on, so as to help students improve their general skills of problem-solving.

Attracting the attention of ITCCC, the committee of International Olympiad Linguistics China, our linguistics society was glad to be offered five places of participants for APLO (Asian Pacific Linguistics Olympiad) representing China, while there are only 26 places offered to team China in total. To choose the best representatives, we held a school selection examination. The problems were set by Yibo and I. We also designed an answer sheet, then printed the papers out and bound them. (the content of the exam paper is shown below) During the examination, students are encouraged to write down their own language rules and we examiners assigned extra points to reasonable rules. In fact, when grading papers, I confirmed that the ‘language rules’ were truly a better indicator of a student’s logic and thinking ability compared to the ‘answers’ (because linguistic Olympiad questions are often so difficult that basically all students try to guess the answers for questions like matching and choice).

our school selection election

With pleasure, we were praised by ITCCC as a “Gold Society” whilst I personally was glad to win the “Gold Campus Ambassador” prize. The committee issued a pennant to us (as it is shown below) and invited me to hold a national presentation to share my experience and suggestions to other organizers of societies in China (the script, slide, and link of the speech was posted in another GitHub article). Our performance in the Olympiad competition is not bad as well, as many of our society members won the “highly distinction” or “distinction” award in IOLC, and some of them even successfully entered the national training camp. Meanwhile, our on-campus selection and training for APLO (Asian Pacific Linguistics Olympiad) has also cultivated the only medalist in the international competition representing China — Xu Haoyang.

the pennant of “Gold Society” by ITCCC

the poster of “Gold Campus Ambassador” by ITCCC

my presentation about society operation

2. Genetic Engineering Society

Genetic Engineering Society focuses on topics related to biological science, especially gene and genetic engineering. We held lectures and seminars during this school year, while we also organized a school team to take part in the iGEM competition (International Genetically Engineering Machine), which was pleased to win the global gold medal.

As a society operator, I was passionate about and committed to providing members with as many resources as I can, including platforms for academic discussion, opportunities to cooperate with other high schools and universities, channels for getting in touch with popular professors, chances for carrying out research and implementing experiments, and so on.
To be specific, I invited seniors — elder students who had mastered bioscience — to share their experiences and suggestions for studying biology as well as participating in the competition with newcomers, and built a QQ group so that they can keep in touch later on. Biological professors from Nanjing University were invited to deliver lectures as well, whom students were passionate to learn from and discuss with.

Apart from learning from speeches and lectures, our society members also dedicated a lot to conducting their own projects with the support provided by the society. Last year, after learning from a wide range of materials and discussing heatedly with teammates, our society members reached a consensus to carry out a project developing an efficient method to converge gutter oil (a kind of unhealthy oil frequently to be seen in Chinese restaurants, which is made from discarded cooking oil and kitchen waste) into high value-added polyunsaturated fatty acids like lino1`lenic acid. To reach the goal, they designed their own experimental apparatus and mathematical models using online software and conducted experiments in our school labor. After school, they also carried out a series of social work to ensure the usefulness and feasibility of their project. For instance, they gave out questionnaires on the Internet, collecting and accessing the public’s comments on the issue of gutter oil in China. They also interviewed officials from City Administration Bureau and Public Security Bureau in Nanjing, figuring out how the food regulatory institutions work and receiving suggestions on their programme from these experts. At the end of the day, they cooperated with students from other high schools and universities to improve the whole program and formed a team to participate in the IGEM competition (international genetically engineered machine) using their project of gutter oil converging. Eventually, they were glad to win an international gold medal.

website link of the team Worldshaper_Nanjing:
https://2021.igem.org/Team:Worldshaper-Nanjing

Worldshaper_Nanjing and their gold medal

Currently, we’ve been focused on the next iGEM competition. Pleasantly, more and more students had been attracted by our society and finally the society members willing to participate in this year’s competition were enough to form as many as three school teams.

Apart from normal activities like those held last school year, this year I managed to get in touch with a biological company that is willing to share their research data freely with one of our school teams focusing on the microorganism dye, and they welcomed the team to collaborate with them on the research as well.

We also cooperate positively with teams from other high schools and universities. On World Environment Day (three days after which comes World Ocean Day), for example, we held an online inter-school seminar with Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Minjiang College, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, and Northwestern Polytechnical University. I also invited other societies and clubs in my school including Brain Science Society, Marine Environment Protection Club and Insects Club to participate in the seminar. At this event, many famous professors from academia were invited to deliver presentations on related topics, including Professor Qin Yuan and President Lin Wenxiong of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Professor Tao Yi of Tsinghua University, Professor Wang Zonghua of Minjiang University, and so on. IGEM teams from participating schools also presented and discussed their research projects. The research topics chosen by each school team are distinct from each other, but were all interesting. For instance, the CHINA-FAFU team from Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University focuses on the development of microalgal biofuels, while one of our school teams, Nanjing_NFLS, is expecting to degrade the secondary metabolites of cyanobacteria: algal toxins. Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that our other school team which didn’t present in the seminar, NFLS_Nanjing, is composed of society members dedicated to the composition of biological dyes, which would be safer and more sustainable compared to chemical ones.

In addition to winning prizes in competitions, our club has also gained a lot of recognition in our school. For example, we won the “Star Club” award and were invited to publish our activities and feelings in the school magazine. Below is the article I wrote and editted.

Our article in the school magazine

*After this year’s competition is over, I will also post the website links and awards of our school teams right below.

3. Summary

My two societies focus on distinct academic topics, but they have a lot in common. Apart from sharing ideas and studying knowledge, the two societies all choose to participate in national and international competitions to challenge and show themselves. Linguistics Society focuses on past paper practicing and training of problem-solving skills, whilst the Genetic Engineering Society encourages members to conduct their own scientific research, using the knowledge they gained to cope with the challenges existing in our real life. Both societies achieved great results in the competition, and more importantly, students gained a lot of knowledge and ability from the society activities, which is undoubtedly the best answer to the efforts of us society operators.

PHYSICAL GEOLOGY and OUR EARTH -- A comparasion of two online college courses that I took

2022年02月21日 Guestbook

COURSE 1: Our Earth: Its Climate, Process and History provided by the University of Manchester on Coursera

COURSE 2: Physical Geology provided by Nanjing University on MOOC

My Certificate

Lecture Structure

Our Earth:

WEEK1: Building Blocks of Earth’s Climate System
WEEK2: Formation, evolution, and process of the solid Earth
WEEK3: Water in Earth’s Climate System: Oceans, Atmosphere, and Cryosphere
WEEK4: Life, and its Effect on Earth’s Climate System
WEEK5: Build Your Own Earth and Conclusion

Physical Geology:

Course Format

Our Earth: The course is mainly taught by Prof. David M. Schultz, Professor of Synoptic Meteorology. In the vedio, he often teaches alone with his slide, while occasionally he also invites other relevant faculty members (such as geochemistry professors, or laboratory researchers) to introduce more specific content through their conversation.

Physical Geology: This course is a video of Professor Shu Liangshu’s class giving to the students at NTU.

Assessment

Our Earth:

Multiple Choices (Single Answer & Multiple Answer)
A self-designed model: This is not compulsory, but students can build models on their own under the instruction of videos.

Physical Geology:

Multiple Choices (Single Answer)
True-or-false Questions: Judgment on some important key points which are easy to confuse students
Discussions: Often related to key points taught in course, occasionally are open questions.

Other Resources

Our Earth: Provide an activity called BYOE (build your own earth), which is a vision that they have to engage students in understanding the controls on Earth’s climate. Their vision is for us students to selecting the features we want: distance from the Sun, tilt of the axis, location of continents, oceans and mountains, rotation rate, atmospheric composition, etc. We would enter these characteristics on a web page, push the “Go” button, and a climate model would run in the background and produce the climate on that world for us. However, such a vision is not currently possible with the speed of today’s computers. Hence instead, they preselected about 50 Earths, did the computer simulations already, and prepared plots of the simulation results for students to examine.

http://www.buildyourownearth.com/

Physical Geology: The whole set of courses mainly revolves around Professor Shu Liangshu’s “Physical Geology”, which is also the most commonly used compulsory textbook for all geological major students in China. At the same time, Professor Shu also provided his courseware, summary of knowledge points, and some exercises for students’ self-study.

My Feedback

In “Our Earth”, Professor David M. Schultz introduce plenty of basic knowledge of earth science to students in a simple and clear way. This was my first try of university courses as well as my first time studing earth sciences in English, and undoubtly the course successfully deepens my interest in this subject. The teaching environment of this course is lovely and friendly. The professor gives a variety of vivid examples to help us understand the abstruse knowledge. He also tries to create a lively teaching and studying atmosphere through his conversation with other professors or showing us around the school laboratory in the video, etc. After taking this course, I re-understood how the Earth works and its characteristics in a systematic way. Meanwhile, I also realized that the university curriculum will provide children with more space for independent inquiry than the high school ones, as the teacher will not provide a large number of questions for exam or practice. In addition, I was fascinated by the final model designing. Even though it’s not compulsory, I still find this model very meaningful as it allows me to understand in a more intuitive way how different propertys affect a planet’s climate patterns.

In contrast, the “Physical Geology” course is more traditional. Professor Shu introduced us a great amount of basic principles of earth sciences (especially geology), which is relatively in-depth and professional. What attracted me most was that, after introducing almost every key point, Mr. Shu would show a large number of pictures related - which were all taken by himself during his field trip of travelling. Through this, I realized that the knowledge we learned in textbooks can be applied to explain a variety of phenomena in real life, and perhaps this is also one important meaning of studying geology and geography. I also look forward to the day when I will be able to apply principles and theories to my daily life, and explain the world with the theories I have learned.

HOW CAN SHENYANG BID FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES?

2021年12月28日 Guestbook

HOW CAN SHENYANG BID FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES?

– a city case study in foreign teacher’s class

We have a weekly lesson with a foreign teacher who will share some of the local culture and helps us to improve our English and thinking.

This year our foreign teacher, JBrown, asks us to do a final assignment which was a 5-minite group presentation. In this presentation we will be representing a Chinese city applying for the right to host the Olympic Games in 2036. The content was free to play with, but of course, the most important thing was to present the merits of the city. After the presentation, our teacher will choose the city that he judges to be “successful in its bid” and will give the group an A* – the highest score in the class.

The city was not chosen freely by us students. JBrown had prepared some pieces of paper with the names of big cities in China for us to draw - and we needed to be on behalf of the city we had drawn. Many students were satisfied that they had drawn political and economic centres or global mega-cities such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Chongqing. Unfortunately, the city we drew was Shenyang - a very invisible provincial capital city facing all the problems that come with post-industrialisation. All of our friends persuaded my teammates and I to ask JBrown for re-drawing (we had one chance to re-choose, while all the other students in the class who had drawn Shenyang had all re-drawn other cities). However, we did not use this opportunity. After discussion, we decided that the Olympics did not have to be held in the most economically developed cities, and that each city had its own unique advantages. What we needed to do was to explore the city’s characteristics in depth and give it meaning to host the Olympics.

It is also because our city does not have the same economic advantages as the others, so instead of simply describing its economic development as a showcase of the city’s strengths, as other students did, we chose to take a holistic approach (e.g. geography, cultural support, venue arrangements, what legacy the Olympics will leave for the city, etc.). We searched a lot of information and images when researching the advantages of Shenyang’s location, and referred to the statements and plans of many cities that had successfully bid for the Olympics in the past when writing the programme and the significance of the event. Finally, we consolidated all the ideas and constantly revised our language presentation to try to make our presentation more organised and logical. Our slides, part of our presentation, will be attached to the text. In the end, our city came out on top and ‘successfully bid for the Olympics’, winning first place in the class.

The other students complimented our group afterwards, saying, “They were so good that in their hands, even Shenyang could successfully bid for the Olympics.” We were really happy, not only because we got an A*, but also because we did our best to complete the case study despite not drawing the most favourable city, and eventually ended up with a surprising result. In the process, my teammates and I also learned how to work together, how to analyse the problem, how to find the perspective of the case study and how to find reference sources.

Shenyang’s bidding for the Olympic Games

produced by Anna, Mckenna, Sherry, Fiona

The Olympic Games is an event of great importance, and it’s our pleasure to compete for the opportunity to host the Games in 2036 here as the representatives of Shenyang. We are going to introduce our city’s strengths from various aspects.

socio-economic advantages

As the largest central city in northeast China, Shenyang can no doubt provide sufficient financial support for the game.

Also, riching in natural resources, Shenyang is one of the most important industrial centres in China. Its recently flourished high-tech industries is also greatly helpful to provide technical support for the construction of Olympic venues and the arrangement of sporting events.

Furthermore, Shenyang is a transportation hub in China. Many important railway trunk lines pass through it, and the Liao River facilitates its water transport.

location

Apart from the socio-economic advantages, Shenyang’s location is very suitable as well. It has the temperate monsoon climate with average summer temperatures of less than 30 degrees. At the same time, there won’t be frequent rainy days. This comfortable weather can allow athletes to perform at their best.

What’s more, situated in the Northeast Plain, Shenyang has a flat and wide-open terrain, which makes it possible to provide concentrated venues.

Support

Sustainability

Legacy

We promise that all of these infrastructures will continue to fulfill their missions after the Olympic Games —- that is to boost the economy and sports industry in Shenyang. We hope that Shenyang can be known to the world not only for its industrial development, but also for its dynamic image of a “sports city” through the 2036 Olympic Games. We promise that all stadiums will be open to the public after the Games, providing more space and facilities for citizens to do exercise. The improved transportation network and airport will help to enhance the level of communication and collaboration between Shenyang and other cities in the world, converting Shenyang into a cosmopolitan city. Besides, the measure of adopting renewable energy will be stuck to and spread out. We have drawn up a detailed and gradual scheme for the application of renewable energy in transport, medicine, sports industry and many other fields, making Shenyang a green city. We believe that the combination of the Olympics and Shenyang will not only enhance the city’s image, but also breathes life into this historical sports event. As the capital city of Liaoning province, Shenyang will play a leading role in Northeast China to develop sports industry and spread Olympic culture in the process. Moreover, Shenyang will serve as a model for developing countries to raise their international status, encouraging more industrial cities to take part in sports events and broadening the value of the Olympics.

Shenyang has made full preparation for the 2036 Olympic Games, dedicated to holding them with credibility, support and sustainability. We believe that the encounter between the Olympics and Shenyang will burst out a brilliant spark, which will be unforgettable in the history of the Olympic Games and the history of globalization.